Winning Streaks Galore: Yip, Tokhirjonova, Lee Unstoppable

Each on a three-game winning streak, IM Carissa Yip and WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova have furthered their lead in the U.S. Women's Championship after seven rounds. They are now 1.5 points ahead of the field. 

Both leaders won their games convincingly: Yip in attacking style and Tokhirjonova by displaying strategic insight in our Game of the Day. Over the last four rounds, IM Alice Lee has hit her stride, winning every single game and rapidly rising in the standings. She is now tied for third with GM Irina Krush.

For the second round in a row, every game in the 2023 U.S. Championship ended in a draw, despite fighting efforts by several of the players. As the number of rounds remaining dwindles, GM Fabiano Caruana continues to lead with GM Hans Niemann in close second. 

Round eight starts on October 13 at 2:30 p.m. ET/20:30 CEST/12:00 a.m. IST.

• U.S. Women's Championship
• U.S. Championship

U.S. Women's Championship

An uncanny number of winning streaks are taking place simultaneously in the women's section. With six out of seven points each, Yip and Tokhirjonova have been unstoppable both on the scoreboard and over-the-board, winning many of their games in a compelling manner. 

Starting with the thematic Nd5 sacrifice in the Sicilian, Yip conjured a powerful attack vs. WGM Thalia Cervantes, chasing her opponent's king from the center to its demise on the kingside.

Afterwards, Yip shared how she balances a competitive mindset with playing against a friend:

Chirila: The end position, it's such a sad position. Did you feel at all bad for your opponent or there's no such feelings in a game of chess?

Yip: I honestly thought that it was really geometrically nice... I did feel a little bad because Thalia and I are friends, but I think it was a nice game. Usually, I try to separate those feelings because it affects my game. It just had to be done.

Tokhirjonova again matched the performance of her co-leader by winning in a strategic duel vs. IM Nazi Paikidze. Gradually increasing her advantage from the middlegame into the ending, she broke through on the kingside and penetrated with her rook to create an unstoppable passer. 

Her seamless positional victory is our Game of the Day, with annotations by GM Dejan Bojkov below.

Check out @SabinaFoisor ‘s interview with @Gulruhbegim !

Continue following the action live⬇️https://t.co/dPfqtkoO17#USChessChamps #STLChessClub pic.twitter.com/FbTgdg2xPn

— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 12, 2023

Catching onto the spirit of the tournament leaders, Lee has also begun to win game after game. From an equal middlegame vs. IM Anna Zatonskih, Lee coordinated her forces with strategic clarity, building up pressure on the queenside and winning a pawn. She converted her extra passer into a victory in the rook ending. 

Serendipitously, Lee will be yet another player celebrating her birthday during the tournament tomorrow. 

IM-elect Alice Lee has had an incredible comeback in the tournament with 4 back to back wins. Check out @SabinaFoisor ‘s chat with Alice.https://t.co/dPfqtkoO17#USChessChamps #STLChessClub pic.twitter.com/BFQoxtkYy1

— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 13, 2023

Though WGM Jennifer Yu and FM Ruiyang Yan drew a mostly balanced game, Yu overlooked one critical opportunity. Can you find the hidden tactical possibility in this seemingly calm position?

White to move.

After the compensation for her pawn sacrifice faded, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan resisted for 79 moves vs. WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan to hold a difficult bishop ending. 

In the last game to finish, Krush and FM Ashritha Eswaran clashed for 113 moves. From the opening to the middlegame, Krush fought for attacking chances, but after an inaccuracy, Eswaran gained an extra pawn in the ending. She managed to promote it, yet the players arrived at a theoretically drawn queen vs. rook and pawn ending. 

U.S. Women's Championship | All Games Round 7

Round 7 Women's Standings

U.S. Championship

It was a different story on the other side of the tournament hall in the open section. Yet, the draw-laden scoreboard camouflages the number of combative skirmishes. 

GMs Ray Robson and Caruana tussled for a long time in a minor-piece ending, searching for small chances to improve their position. Though Robson made some short-lived headway, in the end, Caruana found a way to neutralize the game. 

In his usual win-at-all-costs style, Niemann pressed with his greater activty in a pawn-down ending vs. GM Andrew Tang for nearly six hours. Yet, the bottom seed held his ground all the way to move 112. 

GM Sam Shankland came close to defeating GM Sam Sevian but overlooked a nuance in the minor piece ending that allowed Sevian to save the game. When asked how he manages to make difficult decisions while under such pressure, Shankland shared: "Trust me, you screw up enough as much as I have in life, you're used to making mistakes, and you don't worry about making more."

GM Wesley So vs. GM Jeffery Xiong was a fairly balanced game that featured many early exchanges. Similarly, GM Dariusz Swiercz tried to press in the opposite-color bishop ending against GM Abhimanyu Mishra, but the prodigy held him off without trouble. 

GM Levon Aronian set up a very solid position in the Berlin and drew comfortably vs. GM Leinier Dominguez. 

U.S. Championship | All Games Round 7

Round 7 Open Standings

The 2023 U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational classical event that determines the chess champion of the United States. The 2022 U.S. Women's Championship is being held concurrently. Both events start on October 5 and have the same format: a 12-player, 11-round tournament with a $250,000 prize fund for the U.S. Championship and $152,000 for the U.S. Women’s Championship.

Previous Coverage:

• Yip, Tokhirjonova Grow Lead With 4 Victories
• Nearly All Decisive Day: Caruana Pulls Off Hat Trick, Niemann Defeats Aronian
• Caruana Sole Leader After Long Grinding Win
• Mishra In Sole Lead, Becomes World's Youngest 2600+ Player
• On The Verge Of Blundering While Running Out Of Time, Niemann Defeats Leader
• Paikidze, Sevian Start As Sole Leaders